The missus collects dolphins ornaments , they are in display in my living room. I had this idea to making a dolphin wooden plaque out of Scrap wood. Read on how I created this or you can watch the video with timelapse on youtube below.
I first came up with this idea about a year ago as I was browsing Google images I had seen one that I thought would work with my DIY skill level , so what I did was save that image then imported into software on my pc so could create an outline of the shapes, I then printed that off on multiple sheets of over lapping paper then joined together and cut out the shapes.
The wood I was using was pine from an old bookcase my mom was getting rid off. I the glued the shapes onto the wood making sure the grain was going in different directions , and the piece with the eye on lined up to a knot in the wood.
The tools required for this was just a sander and jigsaw, I used the jigsaw the cut out the shapes making sure I went over a bit so could sand back the edges, I messed up in one part as cut out a notch that I shouldn’t have, so had to recut a new piece.
I then sanded each piece top and sides, so was plain pine, I test fitted the pieces and refined the edges as needed. I thought I had sanded really smooth, so I went on to varnishing them I had some old different colour varnishes, so I then painted on the varnish , this had to be done in doors as this was when it was raining constantly for days.
The varnish took over a day to dry, I wasn’t really happy with the finish, just wasn’t as smooth as I wanted, wasn’t sure if was because old varnish or I hadn’t sanded enought, as I don’t use or know that much about varnishing. So I then resanded and keep using smoother and smoother sandpaper. Once It was a smooth as I could get it , I then applied the varnish I had made a mark on the back of the colour I had done before. I let that dry for 24hrs and was a lot better than before so applied a 2nd coat and then after another 24hrs I was happy with the finish.
To attach all the pieces together I use a bit of hardboard the type you get at the back of wardrobes, placed this down and the piece on top and drew an out line, I then cut this out using the jigsaw going in about 2cm I then attached the back using glue and small screws, so was a solid plaque. I then used some old wire to wrap around mounting points so could attach to the wall.
This was a good project for me, it’s something different than I normally do so was a challenge and wanted to prove to myself I could do this. Really it’s not that hard to do this but due to my spinal problems and arthritis in my hands took me a lot longer to do that I should have done, but all in all I’m happy with it, it’s not perfect but being on the wall you aren’t going to inspect close up.
I have now started another plaque like this, as I’m into taking photos of Lego mini figures where ever I go, I have done an outline of a minifigure it’s going to be over 2 ft tall and using the same ideas from this, so if you want to see that one make sure you follow this blog or Subscribe to my YouTube channel to be notified when I have done it.